This invention relates to a baseball training device and, in particular, to a device for training a ball player to develop fielding skills.
The term baseball, as herein used, shall be broad enough to encompass both hardball and softball sports of all types wherein a participant uses a glove or mitt to field a ball whether struck by a bat or thrown by another player. Initially, in the early days of baseball, the gloves were not much more than thin leather strips that were wrapped about the player's catching hand as described in U.S. Pat. No. 368,724. Because of the lack of protection, fielders were forced to catch balls using both hands with the main impact of the ball being absorbed in the heel of the catching hand. Accordingly, the fielder had to develop well grounded fielding skills or risk making numerous errors or even suffering serious hand and finger injuries.
Fielding gloves, however, have evolved over the years which offer the wearer greater protection and provide deep, wide pockets that enable a player to catch, or more correctly entrap, the ball within the glove. Young ball players therefore have come to rely more and more on their equipment and less upon their skills when fielding. As a consequence, these players fail to develop the basic mechanics necessary to skillfully play the game. In fact, this reliance on equipment causes young players to develop poor fielding habits, the most prevalent of which is catching or fielding balls with only the glove hand.
Some coaches, in order to train young ball players in fielding balls or turning double plays, have taped flat boards to the fielders glove hand. The board forces the player to use two hands when catching or trapping a ball and to receive the ball in the heel area of the hand. It has been found, however, that the ball rebounds rapidly upon striking the hard board so that only players possessing the highest of natural skills can use the device. Those having lesser skills can not master the use of the board and soon become discouraged.